


The Healing Power Of Hugs

by InkDrawnDreamer



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Character Study, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Gen, Tags will be added as they become relevant, charlie is aggressively cuddly, friendship feels, rating might change for themes but I don't know yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 05:38:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18685210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkDrawnDreamer/pseuds/InkDrawnDreamer
Summary: Charlie tries to help her fellow demons the only way she knows how: with tender (and sometimes crushing) affection. Basically, this will just be different scenes of Charlie and co. attempting to make the rehabilitation program work her way and different characters' thoughts on it. I probably won't be writing much more until either the series pilot coms out or some more clips are dropped, because I just don't know enough about anyone beyond the main four to form enough of a detailed perspective for the rest of the cast.





	The Healing Power Of Hugs

Charlie was nothing if not amusing. To think that a child born and raised in Hell could be so naive— _goodness_ —the thought made Alastor want to burst out laughing sometimes. He initially decided to sponsor her little project for his own amusement, thinking it might have been in his favor to have the hotel and its crew at his disposal, but if not, then he could at least get in a few laughs before it crashed and burned. He expected it to fail, but even then there was something intriguing about the way Charlie ran around trying to keep everything on track, her unwavering belief that she would succeed despite having every reason to doubt. She probably had the easiest life out of anyone in Hell, born into a rare pocket of love and privilege that was far surpassed by the squalor and suffering that defined the rest of the realm. She was spoiled and ignorant, and yet, empathetic despite the odds. She was peculiar―and he found her fascinating. After watching so many perfectly ordinary God-fearing people unravel during the Great Depression, Alastor was well aware of how poorly concepts like love and altruism stood up against sorrow and struggle. He found that flippant aspect of humanity to be most entertaining―he always had and always would. He was waiting eve now for the girl to crack, to fail spectacularly, and oh would it be truly spectacular when it _did_ finally happen. He was still waiting for the punchline now that he was a more frequent face among the hotel’s crew, because for all his flaws and preturbing mannerisms, Alastor was still nothing if not a patient man.

He was even patient enough to withstand the hotel staff's antics, and every small disaster that followed. He could stand to lose a little of his time or a little of his blood when he knew it would be worthwhile.

"Oh no! are you alright?"

It would all be worthwhile eventually.

"Perfectly fine, my dear. Perfectly fine," he said just as brightly as ever.

"Oof, that's an awful lot of blood," he heard the spider fellow comment from somewhere on the sidelines. As ghostly pale as Angel was, he still looked far healthier―and far less anxious―than the white-haired girl who was attempting to shush him at that moment.

Alastor met their discomfort with a throaty chuckle. "Really it's nothing. Just a couple of shattered bones is all." Alastor flexed his injured hand as he wrenched it from its trappings, silently delighted at how the pair of demons winced in unison. He would have been the first to admit that he was no mechanic, but hadn’t expected checking the ventilation in the building to be quite so risky. Oh well, a cut from a loose nail here, a shattered hand from a broken vent fan there, you win some you lose some as far as he was concerned.

"Let me get some bandages for your hand." Charlie was on the move again before Alastor could insist otherwise. She returned crouching beside him a moment later  with a small doctor's bag in hand. "Just give me one minute. Don't move."

She lightly placed one of her hands beneath his while the other fished a tiny jar out of the bag, followed immediately by a roll of gauze. Her movements were so careful, and laden with an intense concern that Alastor would normally assume was overwrought with sarcasm. Coming from anybody else, it probably would have been.

"Let me know if I'm squeezing too hard," she said as she opened the jar, which wafted a faint aroma of menthol his way. "This stuff really stings, so be― _yeep!"_

All he did was slather some of the cream onto his injury, but good gracious, that little shriek she made was _priceless_. He had a hard time keeping himself from laughing at how she flinched, curling her suddenly empty fingers into a fist on reflex as if hers were the ones being broken.

_Hah! Who knew that demons could get sympathy pains?_

Charlie still looked unnerved when Alastor caught her eye again, but she was quick in rewrapping the gauze firmly around his palm. Without another word his injury was cleaned, covered, and securely dressed by the girl. She even offered her hand to help him up after they were done.

"Vaggie and I can take over the installation from here," she said with a nervous smile. "Take a rest if you need to. There will be plenty of cleanup for everyone to help with later."

He grinned back at her. "Much appreciated, my dear." He heard a small yip as he pulled her into a two-second long hug.

Considering the noise of protest, he was surprised to feel her return the gesture just as he was starting to pull away. He stood just a few hairs above her, but she looked so small as she gave his midsection a firm squeeze, almost like a child trying to infuse their affections into a broken toy. It was almost endearing to see―useless or not―and he was entertained enough that he was willing to accept it without protesting. Charlie was still smiling at him when she pulled away, which was a grim contrast to the unsettled looks on her other companions' faces. _So oblivious, the poor little thing._ He snickered.

"Why, I think I feel better already," Alastor said as he spun on his heels and pointed himself toward the exit. He fluttered his fingers in a small wave, sending sharp waves of pain throughout his hand as he finally took his leave. "I will be seeing you ladies and gents later."

Charlie gave him a friendly wave back, seemingly unaffected. He muffled the urge to let out a chuckle. _Very amusing indeed._


End file.
